All My Fault
by Soter-chan
Summary: Wirt never felt properly accepted by his friends at school and often spent long nights alone. Greg tried to cheer up his older brother in any way he could, but was always pushed away. Soon, Wirt dives too deep into himself to even care about Greg who only wants to help. (AU where the Unknown doesn't exist but Beatrice is still in it) ((major character death))
1. Chapter 1

I breathed against the window glass and doodled in the little fog spot. It was a lantern. I don't why I doodled that at the time, but now I know. That cold, dark, and rainy October night had no meaning at the time, but now it meant everything.

* * *

><p>"Greg," I whispered softly trying to stay calm. "Please just leave."<p>

My little step-brother, Greg, had came into my room and started to go through my things which he seemed to love to do. This savage manged to find a pile of tapes full of recorded poetry on them. He stood there, staring at me, wondering why I was so protective over some pieces of plastic. Despite him being a little naive at times, he listened.

"Okay," Greg responded and placed all the tapes back in the bag they came from. He then just walked out of my room and shut the door as I instructed him to do many times.

I loved Greg, honestly, but for the most part he could never take anything seriously. The thoughts racing through his mind while I spoke were endless and meaningless. I don't think I can remember a time when he actually listened to me when I wasn't telling him a direction over again. My brother was a creative and positive little boy and always tried to make everyone around him feel the same happiness he did on a daily basis. Come to think of it, I had never seen him sad before.

On the other hand, Greg always said I took things too seriously. He even came up with a catchy nickname for me, Worry-Wirt, which is a play on words with my name. This offended me when he first came up with it, but it became something that everyone started calling me. Isn't it funny that I even began to like it?

That night Beatrice, Greg's babysitter, was supposed to come over while our parents went out. She was about my age but had more sense than either of us. It was a reasonable decision that my mother made having her help me with Greg. Every time I took care of him I ended up falling asleep or just getting to annoyed to bother with him. Beatrice, despite also being sent on edge by him too, had always paid all her attention to him. She would watch the shows he liked and made sure to bring candy for him. Greg really enjoyed her company and looked forward to seeing her again.

When my step-father called for me and Greg downstairs, I threw the bag of tapes under my desk and ran to the front door. Mother was kissing Greg goodbye and my step-father was going over the emergency numbers with Beatrice. She was nodding along listening to every word, although she already knew them all by heart. Mother pulled me into a hug and then thanked Beatrice before leaving. Once they were gone, Beatrice had us sit on the couch and watch some TV.

"Do you think they'll be playing those scary Halloween movies yet?" Beatrice asked jokingly.

"It's only two days into October," I smiled. "Plus, Greg can't watch horror movies yet. You're the babysitter, you should know this."

"Hey," She laughed. "At least I didn't fall asleep while my little brother was playing in some random neighbor's yard!"

"That was one time!"

"But it's the time that got me here," Beatrice ruffled my hair and continued giggling. "What do you want to watch, Greg?" She handed him the remote.

Greg flipped through the channels and then stopped on a little kid's show about a blue dog and a man in a green shirt. His babysitter exclaimed with excitement because she loved this show. Beatrice had watched this growing up and then watched it with all her younger siblings. We all sat there, engulfed in the show, and munched on candy for the rest of the night.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning I woke up, still sitting on the couch. A small throw blanket had been placed on me, so at least I did not freeze to death. However, the house seemed surprisingly quiet. I sprung off the couch and went into all the downstairs rooms, there was no one. Then I went up stairs and found the same thing, nothing. Suddenly, I started hyperventilating. What had happened? Is everyone alright? Did someone get hurt? I ran back down and to the kitchen to get some water. Hopefully, taking a drink would calm me a bit.

It hit me like a brick to the head. There, right in the middle of the fridge, was a note saying that my parents had taken Greg to his doctor's appointment for a check-up. I simply could not believe myself. I was running around the house like a madman, panicking because no one was home when all I had to do was look at the stupid fridge. I rubbed my eyes and carried my water upstairs to sleep in my comfy bed.

* * *

><p>"Wake up!" Greg pounced on me.<p>

"What time is it...?" I groaned rolling over.

"Two in the afternoon, sleepy head!" He pulled off my covers. "Come on! Let's go play!"

I swung my legs over the edge of my bed and ushed Greg out of my room so I could get dressed. How did I sleep that long? When I opened the door, Greg was waiting outside for me, practically bouncing off the walls from excitement. Nothing had been planned for that day, so I didn't see why he seemed so ecstatic. Also, the doctor had never been fun for him, considering he was always ill.

We both ran down stairs and I helped Greg get on his jacket to prevent him from the harsh fall winds. Our mother wrapped a scarf around his neck, and made me promise that I wouldn't let him take it off. However, the instant he stepped out the door, he ripped off the scarf and I swore not to tell. I watched my little brother run down the neighborhood, stomping on the crunchy leaves. Greg grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the woods.

"Greg, you know we can't go into the woods," I removed my hand from his grasp.

"Come on, Wirt!" He smiled. "Please? I wanna show you something!"

I sighed and followed him in. The woods were a lot scarier than I remembered. Bird songs turned into eerie chirps and the slightest croak of a frog could send chills down my spine. The further you got, the darker it became, but Greg didn't seem to notice. He just carried on merrily, without a care in the world for the dangers lurking in the shadows. On the other hand, I was scared half to death. Anytime any animal, big or small, even dared to move, I would shriek in fear. Woods were scary, especially when they were as creepy as that one was.

Greg helped me cross a river over a fallen log, and twisted me around the bear traps. Carefully, as if it was a surprise for me, he took my hand and pulled me over to a small creek. It was beautiful, perhaps one of the only things that didn't leave an alarming after taste in that place. If you shut your eyes and listened quietly, you could hear the water rippling off the rocks of the stream. It almost felt like a little hide out, where no one could enter but me and my brother.

Ruining the silence, Greg shoved a green toad in my face. "What should I name him?"

I jumped back. "Nothing! Put him down, that frog is not a pet!"

Greg shrugged and put the frog in the pocket of his jacket. "He is now."

Without a comeback, I just rolled me eyes and sat on a rock near the water's edge. It was all so peaceful. Honestly, I was surprised my loud brother had found a quiet place as this so neat. When a chill rolled by, and huddled my legs against my chest. The frigid air helped to add the stillness to the scene, almost like if it was a summer day it would have destroyed the atmosphere. Greg sat down next to me and placed his head against my arm. He played with his new "pet" and made it dance to tunes he would hum. I laughed and applauded the stunning performance the amphibian had given.

On our way back home, Greg marked the trees with a simple "x" to make sure neither of us ever lost our hideout. The frog would occasionally croak, startling me for a few seconds, but Greg would giggle and assure me everything was alright. By the time we got out of the woods, night fall was already approaching meaning that dinner was soon. Mr brother grabbed my hand, once again, and dashed for our home blocks away. Luckily, we made it in time, but forgetting an important object.

"Young man," My mom scolded me after Greg had been sent to bed. "You know he needs to wear his scarf."

"Mom I know."

"Then why did you let him take it off? You know how fragile his immune system is. One tiny cold can turn into a mess!"

"But-"

"No!" She yelled but quickly covered her mouth. "Sorry... It's just that Greg can get very sick very easily, and I rather not have you lose your only brother."

"We're not going to lose him," I wrapped my arms around her. "Greg is tough, he can make it through anything."

My mom rubbed my hands. "And please get that toad out of the bathtub," She got up and walked towards the kitchen.

"Yes, mom," I sighed getting up.


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't see why the frog needs a leash."

"George Washington might run away," Greg responded very matter-a-factly. "Or hop away."

He had dragged me to the local pet store to look at things for his frog, which was now apparently named George Washington. Greg had George on top of his head as he walked around the shop eyeing toys and treats. Stopping at the dog toys, he picked up a squeaky rubber duck and waved it in front of George's face. After seeing no response, Greg sadly put the duck back on the shelf.

"May I help you two?" A girl with a big smile came over to me and Greg.

"I'm looking for something for Mr. Washington," Greg lifted the frog off his head and held it out to the girl.

"Uh... I don't think we have anything for frogs here. We do have somethings for turtles, maybe that could work?"

"Nope, he's a frog not a turtle. Where are the leashes?"

"In the back of the store to the right," She pointed down the shop and walked away.

He grinned and thanked her before running to the isle. We stood there for ten minutes while Greg carefully inspected each and every leash there was. Looking to me, he put his hands on his hips and let out a huff.

In all seriousness Greg asked me, "What color do you think matches his eyes?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Blue?!"

"Good choice!" He grabbed a dark blue leash and skipped to the checkout counter.

My brother proudly showed off George Washington's new leash as we made our way back home. Surprisingly, the frog handled the leash very well and didn't try to wiggle its way out of it. George just hopped next to him making sure to keep pace with Greg's little legs. What a sight we were; a small boy with a frog on a leash next to his tall and lanky older brother. Naturally, we got a few weird glances but once we reached our neighborhood everyone waved and complimented George for his great taste in fashion.

I used my key to open the front door and found that our parents were not home. They went out to dinner and promised to bring home leftovers and made a note to call over Beatrice. Despite how much I enjoyed having her over, I figured that we didn't need her because I could just take Greg to my high school's football game. The homecoming game was soon and our team was trying to prepare to go up against our rivals, so tonight's game surely would be good. Greg agreed to go as long as he could take George, but I made him swear that he wouldn't tell our parents that we had gone out.

We sat at the top of our old and rusty bleachers along with the fifty other students that came. The season had just begun so the attendance was naturally tiny. To be completely honest, the game wasn't what had interested me to go, it was the mascot. My friend Sara was dancing around in our school's bee costume while the cheerleaders excitedly did tricks behind her.

"Do you like the bee?"

"What?" I almost fell back a bit, startled because Greg had not spoken since the game had begun.

"You like the bee."

"No, Greg, I don't like the bee. She's just a friend."

"Who is she then?"

"None of your business."

He crossed his arms and hugged George closer to himself. I noticed that his grip was getting tighter and I stopped him before he squeezed the poor thing to death. "Greg!"

"Oh!" He released the frog from his grasp, but still held the leash firmly. "Sorry George, I was just cold..."

"We forgot to put your jacket and scarf on didn't we?"

Greg slowly nodded, his body shivering in the chilly October air. I pulled my sweater off leaving me with only my under shirt and handed it to him.

"Let's get home then, I'll find out the score at school on Monday," I took Greg's hand and lead him down the bleachers.

Once we got home I immediately lit the fireplace and made Greg sit in front of it wrapped in at least five blankets. On top of that, I made him some hot apple cider, his favorite, and gave him a sugar cookie to eat it with. I sat down next to him enjoying the warmth as well. If mother had found out that he was outside without at least a jacket, she would have killed me on the spot. Luckily, Greg promised yet again not to tell her of our antics and drank his apple cinder quietly.

"I'm sorry, Wirt."

"Sorry about what? I should have made sure you had the right clothes on before going out."

"No..." He put the cinder down. "I'm sorry I'm always sick and I'm sorry I always have to have ten jackets on."

I wrapped my arms around Greg. "It's not your fault, you're too little to think that way."

He didn't respond but only ate his cookie, watching the flames flicker in the fireplace.


End file.
